


with eyes unclouded by hate

by sleightofhand



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Multi, Multiple Point of Views, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 02:40:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11682330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleightofhand/pseuds/sleightofhand
Summary: "With this mask," Corrin whispers solemnly, none to hear her voice besides the sacred Yato sheathed at her hip. "I am Kamui."-Wherein Corrin has premonitory dreams of the dangers that lie in the Hoshido and Nohr paths, and, desperate to keep both of her families alive, rejects the choice between the two and vanishes after being unable to prevent her mother's demise. Labeled as a traitor to both kingdoms, she creates the identity of Kamui to forge her own way for revenge without restrictions. (revelations re-imagining, I suppose?)





	with eyes unclouded by hate

**Author's Note:**

> hear me out.......... i love corrin but we all know their character is bland at best. this is my attempt at making revelations more fun than it was and also fleshing corrin out into someone whose main 'personality' trait isn't "kind-hearted and loved by literally everyone instantly"
> 
> and @ everyone who came for the leokumi: do not worry! there is PLENTY for u here i promise.

It was such a dreadful feeling, this helplessness. Powerless to keep your most beloved safe. Unlike the dream, however, Corrin now had a name for the woman who laid limp in her arms. Mikoto.  _Mother._ The silky white cloth of her dress was blotched with scarlet, the ghastly ink spreading more and more as she bled. No premonition could have ever prepared her for this pain. A pain so unlike any other she had ever felt, one that turned her skin to ice and her blood to fire. 

_Mother. Mother._

"You were... not hurt? Tell me you're okay..." Mikoto rasped out, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her mother's face turned blurry as tears rolled down her face, dripping down her chin. Her eyes burned, but she refused to look away, refused to lose sight of her. Corrin struggled to draw breath, her heart thundering within her ribs.

"I- I'm fine--" She could scarcely finish, the words dying on her tongue when her mother smiled up at her. That sweet, gentle smile...

A smile she was never to see again.

"I'm-- so... glad..." Never before had she dreaded such words, words she knew to be Mikoto's last as her mother ragdolled in her grasp, one last breath escaping her before her head lolled back, soft amber eyes closing for the final time. She slid from Corrin's arms as she trembled, shaking violently with wild eyes fixated on her limp body. First, it was Gunter, the only father she had ever truly known. And now, her mother was taken from her, too.

The fury, she could feel it, a storm swirling in her chest. It was hellfire, burning,  _scalding._ It was wrath, and it bubbled up in her throat, molten hot.

" _Mother!"_

Nothing held back the scream that ripped free from her chest, a wretched wail, an accusation for the Gods themselves;  _why?!_   She knew now that she would not awake, bolting upright in a cold sweat, once more locked away in the Northern Fortress with Jakob hovering at her side, a concern expression beset his face while he asks her,  _what's wrong,_ and comments,  _this must be the ninth nightmare this week, good heavens._ She would love nothing more than for that to be the case, for all of this to be a cruel illusion fed to her in her sleep. 

Somewhere behind her, Sakura cries out for their mother. Raijinto was drawn, Ryoma growled for the killer to reveal itself. Corrin's fingers twitched as she hunched over her dearest mother's body, each breath heaved in through the nose, her eyes wide and jaw clenched tightly. The killer was already gone, could he not see that?! Her heart just beat faster and faster. She could feel it, as she cursed Ganglari and her own stupidity over and over again within a whirling maelstrom of thoughts. She could feel herself steadily losing control, her body becoming something that was no longer her own. Fire crawled over her skin, beneath her armor, searing hot. It scorched her, and she welcomed it.  _Let me join her,_ she begged.  _Let me see her again._

If only the fire would swallow this worthless body of hers. It engulfed her, but there was no pain. A numbness slithered through her, and in her ears all she could hear was a raucous roar. The howl of a hellish beast, belonging to none other than her. She could feel herself screaming, roaring, and through her own eyes she could glimpse the nightmarish scene that the Hoshidan square had become. But she could not move; this new body moved on its own. It lashed and hissed and growled, it slashed through flesh with its claws and sent blood splattering across the cobblestone. She let it, unable nor willing to try and stop it, to contain it. 

Her heart was on fire and this beast only fanned the flames. Corrin wailed and the beast screamed, soaking its jaws with blood. It understood her. Somehow, it was familiar, dormant held closely to her heart for all her years up until now. It was her twin; she came into this world with this monster within her, and she could not fear it. 

Having cleaved a path of butchered corpses behind her, Corrin soon pinned the  _thing_ that wielded Ganglari beneath her. Her claws closed around its chest, talons sinking deep into its flesh and snapping its ribs as she clutched harder, piercing the heart and ripping her hand away, drenched in blood and bespattering the ground with scarlet. She knew where this would lead; Azura would approach her, try to soothe her with that eerie song of hers, risking herself to bring her back from the monstrous rage that consumed her. Then, the encounter with her Nohrian family on the open plains of Hoshido would occur next. The choice would be thrust upon her as her family surrounded her on all sides, and wherever she looked she would meet the eyes of her beloved siblings. None of whom she could bear to betray, but nevertheless they demanded a side be chosen, and blood be shed.

Choosing Hoshido, choosing her mother, choosing her birth family lead to Xander cradling a limp Elise in his arms, a scarlet gash in her stomach, tears crawling down his face as silent sobs forced their way out of his chest as she raised a golden blade against him. For weeks the visions had hurt her so, as she watched a solemn Leo take upon his head their father's cold and heavy crown, abandoned by all he held dear. 

However, to choose Nohr, loyalty over blood, was to abandon them. It was to slaughter the kitsune and watch as Ryoma impaled himself on Raijinto's gleaming, hissing blade. It meant sacrificing her dear little brother, to watch Takumi descend further and further into madness, to watch him become beyond salvageable. Nohr was the betrayal of the sister who fought to valiantly to protect her, to thrust upon her the crown of Hoshido and to leave Sakura broken and without hope.

These dreams that plagued her were not mere dreams, that much was clear now. Choosing either side meant ruining either one family or the other. Stripping kingdoms of their rightful kings and forcing crowns upon those who are not ready. To choose was to sacrifice, and she  _refused._

 _"Stay_ away from me!" She snarled when Azura stepped towards her, arms outstretched, as if to accept her into them. Shocked, the songstress froze, and she could see her blood siblings behind her. Their eyes were all on her. Fearful. 

"Corrin, please, you're-" Azura tried once more, but Corrin growled and lashed her tail, unfurling magnificent wings. 

Guiding the beast's movements was not easy, but letting Azura take this form from her was an even worse mistake. A thunderous roar erupted from her throat, blood dripping from ghoulish, metallic jaws. Her wings thrust into the air and she lifted off with a bounding leap, landing on a decrepit building, whereupon leaving deep trenches where her claws dug in before vaulting off from the roof and soaring away on unsteady wings, ignoring as Ryoma called out for her.

This was the first step to saving them. To saving all of them.

* * *

 

He kept Brynhildr tucked firmly beneath his arm as he galloped betwixt Elise and Xander, the ancient tome responding to the anger brimming beneath his skin and practically vibrating with power, as if eager to unleash it. 

Even sweet Elise wore a fierce glare as they rode out on the front lines, the Nohrian army behind them. A wyvern's shadow loomed over them, joined with the silhouette of Camilla brandishing a ferocious steel axe that he knew she yearned to soak with Hoshidan blood. Xander's face was unreadable, but there was no doubt he dueled to contain the rage they all felt. Leo focused back onto the terrain in front of them, unwilling to make a fool of himself via a mistake with his warhorse. 

The Nohrian royal siblings shared the same fury.  _How dare they,_ they had snarled.  _How dare they steal Corrin from us!_

_Oh, the nerve!_

_They'll pay for this. I'll destroy them for such a slight!_

_Enough! We will save our sister first. Then they will suffer for what they've done._

It had been ages since he last such unity with his siblings, such synergy, all joined together by the same cause, the same rage. The same wrath. To bring back their Corrin, to rescue her from the Hoshidan _scum_ whom had stolen her away. Each blamed themselves for being careless, for their lack of vigilance. Corrin had just barely tasted freedom outside the Northern Fortress, only for those savages to take it away again. For that, he would never forgive them. 

"Hoshidan forces!" Xander growled out his warning, and his warhorse charged ahead of them. Leo and Elise fell into formation behind him, Camilla soaring above them. Across the wide, lush plains he could see the opposing army, three figures opposite them at the front lines. He smirked when he spotted the tallest, the one clad in the brilliant, scarlet armor. The crown prince of Hoshido, no doubt. Oh, how he  _longed_ to make them pay. 

As was custom, the two armies halted as their commanders continued forwards, the crown prince Ryoma storming across the field with a blade crackling with electricity in hand. Behind him came the other members of the royal family - minus the queen, Leo noted silently, as he trotted forward with his own siblings to join Xander, flipping open Brynhildr and cradling the tome atop the underside of his forearm. Camilla's dragon landed beside him, a deep growl rumbling in her throat. Xander held his head high as he tugged on his horse's reins, bringing the hulking stallion to a halt. 

"Crown prince Ryoma, I'll skip the pleasantries." Siegfried glowed an ominous violet in his hand as Xander glowered down upon the Hoshidan prince. _"What have you done with our sister?"_

Ryoma visibly bristled at his question. " _Our_ sister has disappeared, after  _your_ dastard king murdered our mother!" He roared, causing Leo's smirk to drop from his lips. He looked to Xander, puzzled, but his elder brother was looking only at Ryoma. 

"My father has done no such thing, _fool._ _"_ Hissed Xander. "I've no tolerance for games. Tell us where Corrin is,  _now._ "

"It is you who is the fool here, Nohrian _scum._ " The prince growled, and his sword drooled with sparks. "Your king gifted Corrin a sword that was to explode in our Hoshidan square. If it weren't for our mother, it would have killed your precious Corrin, too. Tell me..." He raised his blade. "What sort of king uses his own 'child' as a weapon?"

"Enough of these lies!" Xander gathered his warhorse's reins in his gauntleted hand.  "I tire of this nonsense. If you will not surrender Corrin to us, we will take her back  _ourselves."_

"Search all of Hoshido if you please," Said Ryoma. "You will not find her."

"Camilla! Leo! Elise!" Shouted Xander. "Prepare for battle! We will cut down these dastards and save our sister!"

Ryoma was unfazed by his declaration of war, and lifted his sword, rallying his warriors. "Hinoka! Takumi! Sakura! For Hoshido!"

"For Corrin!" Cried the princess astride the pegasus, and they launched into action. Camilla's wyvern immediately lunged for the pure white steed, and her axe cleaved the air where it had been mere seconds before, ivory feathers adrift in its absence. She avoided the next stab of the naginata and then their battle rose higher and higher above the chaos. Xander and Ryoma clashed immediately, Siegfried's blade ringing against the electrified steel of Ryoma's sword. Back and forth they slashed and stabbed, performing a complex dance where one misstep lead to an opened throat and blood soaked grass. 

"Gods, why won't you idiots listen?!" Snarled the other Hoshidan prince, in his hands a golden bow knocked with a brilliant glowing arrow. "I'll kill you all, for Mother!" 

"Hmph. If you lot of fools had just yielded Corrin to us, perhaps we could have avoided this." Leo drawled, gazing down upon the opposing prince with disdain. Like Xander stood rivals with Ryoma, Leo knew he did as well with the haughty prince before him. His face twisted in rage, and he lifted his bow.

"I'll start with  _you,_ " He spat, drawing back the luminous bowstring to his cheek. " _Die!"_

The arrow fired faster than he was prepared for, and struck him in the ribs in a painful burst of magic. Leo gasped, the impact having knocked the air from his lungs and nearly thrust him from the saddle. He held on, gripping Brynhildr tightly as fury surged through him when that  _stupid_ prince had the gall to smirk at him.

"You will  _pay_ for such insolence!"  _I'll crush you._ A gnarled branch exploded from the ground beneath Takumi and shot up fast enough to strike him in the chest,  _hard._ He stumbled backwards, heaving in a breath, and Leo dug his heels into his steed's sides. The warhorse bellowed and charged forwards, and he lifted his hand, casting the deadly spell once more, this time aiming to shoot the branch  _through_ his chest.

Much to his chagrin, Takumi leapt away from Brynhildr's bough and shot another arrow, though luckily he intercepted this one with another one of his tome's wooden arms. The arrow split the bark and vanished.

Chaos erupted all around them. The armies met in the middle and steel met flesh. Swords met swords, lances met intestines, shields met axes. The air reeked of blood and he could barely hear himself think over all the shouting and screaming. But he remained focused on his ever-evasive foe, guiding his horse as he cast spells and dodged arrows left and right. Together they danced, nearly mirroring their elder siblings but not quite, theirs was a unique waltz which could not be replicated.

His warhorse stepped lightly and moved with grace. She was easy to maneuver to and fro to avoid Takumi's devastating shots, although even she could not move fast enough to evade all of them. He thought, perhaps, that if he tried to tire the opposing prince, his aim would fail him and Leo would be free to move in for the finishing blow. However, the damned fool seemed to never waver; each arrow was aimed with eerily precise accuracy. And even after Leo put all of his focus into evading him, he still never appeared to tire, firing endless arrows at him. One wrong move and he would be done for. 

"Have you locked her away?" Leo snapped after narrowly avoiding an arrow. "You savages must have imprisoned her. I wouldn't put it past you!"

Takumi leapt to the side, out of Brynhildr's range. "This may come as a surprise to you, but I don't  _care_ about Corrin!" He retorted. "If it weren't for her, our mother would still be alive! I wish she had just stayed in Nohr!"

"That makes two of us." He grumbled. "Well,  _I_ do. I've come for my sister, and Gods be damned we will return home with her!"

"Hah! Don't make me laugh!" Takumi gave him a cruel smile. "She's barely even human! If I were you, I'd forget about her."

Leo cast another bough, which he dodged,  _again._

"Stop speaking so cryptically." He hissed. "Corrin is as human as the rest of us!" He spurred his mare on to evade an arrow, which grazed him in the side despite his efforts. He winced, yanking on the reins and adjusting his grip on Brynhildr. 

"Oh, not so." Takumi chuckled bitterly. "She turned into a savage beast when that sword killed our mother! Perhaps if _you_ had seen the carnage she caused, you would believe me."

"Of course she did." Scoffed Leo. "Anyone would be enraged."

Their dance was beginning to slow as their arguing ramped up. Takumi even lowered his bow.

"Gods, but are you dense! I meant she _turned into_ a  _beast._ To put that in simple terms for you," He rolled his shoulder, his silvery ponytail rippling behind him. "she  _became._ A.  _Monster._  With giant claws and fangs and all."

Leo had not heard of such things in his _life,_ save for the wolfskin of Mount Garou. Despite knowing Corrin was not blood related to himself and the others, he could say definitively that she was not a shapeshifting beast. He fixed the other prince with a smoldering glare. "Leave it to a Hoshidan fool like you to make up such ridiculous lies."

Takumi's lips pulled back in a snarl, and before Leo could brace himself, an arrow was notched and fired in a matter of seconds. The blast hit him squarely in the chest, striking his solar plexus with the force of a well-aimed steel axe. He felt as if his chest had caved in, his eyes going wide as he struggled to draw in a breath. Before he could register what was happening, the sky was tilting and his back slammed into the ground, stealing away his breath once again. His breastplate was cracked. Brynhildr toppled to the grass beside him, pain shooting up and down his spine, and he could only lay there and heave while the Hoshidan prince approached him, his smile smug and his bow drawn. 

Immediately Leo glanced to the left, the right, expecting -  _hoping,_ to see one of his siblings running to his rescue. He was greeted with not the sight of Camilla's wyvern descending upon his foe, nor Xander charging forth with Siegfried at the ready. Even Elise was nowhere to be seen, no doubt weaving between the battling soldiers and healing vicious wounds with a twirl of her staff. There was a sinking pit in his stomach. During their battle they had drifted further and further from the fray, and now he could scarcely even see his siblings in the heat of battle.

None of them were coming to help. He could barely move, managing to prop himself up on his elbows and turn onto his side, his arm stretched out for Brynhildr. If he could just reach the tome, he would be saved. He wouldn't  _need_ his siblings help, he just needed to  _reach the damned tome._

"Damn this," He grunted with the effort, Brynhildr inches away from his outstretched hand. Again he looked up, heart twisting when again, no one noticed his blight. He turned his head to gaze upon his attacker, fully expecting to see another arrow poised to fire, this time to pierce through his armor at close range. To kill him. 

Takumi was staring at him, his bow held at the ready, yes, but not yet in position to fire. His face betrayed confusion.

"If you're going to kill me," Leo wheezed. "Then  _do_ it. Don't just  _stare_ at me!"

He didn't answer right away. 

* * *

 

Takumi was fully prepared to kill that damned Nohrian prince, the highborn scum who took one look at him and decided he was superior. He had been _excited_ to wipe that smug smile off of that fool's face, but, now that he had, he found himself hesitating.

Prince Leo was struggling to breathe, even, and Takumi didn't miss the panicked looks he sent all around him. He had successfully unhorsed this pompous asshole, who hailed from the same family responsible for his mother's death. He should be joyful, right now. He should have already struck an arrow through his heart and be done with it. To claim the prince's life was an act that could not be forgiven, but he doubted Ryoma would even care about politics in a time like this.

But the way he was trying so desperately to reach that troublesome tome of his, it was... pathetic, yes, but something else. HIs refusal to call out for help. He had been searching for his siblings, it was obvious; the way he immediately whirled his head back and forth, clearly hoping for one of those dreadful Nohrian royals to rush to his aid. Yet, they were all preoccupied - the dragon rider with his sister, the crown prince with Ryoma, and... well, he had no idea where that annoying one with the pigtails ran off to, but she had vanished, as well. 

And that left the little prince all alone. 

"If you're going to kill me," Leo wheezed. "Then  _do_ it. Don't just  _stare_  at me!"

He was right. This was not the time for mercy; there was no possible benefit! And what sort of son would let a chance to avenge his mother slip out from between his fingertips?! Yet, he found himself unable to fire his arrow.

"They're... not coming." Takumi managed to say, as if  _that_ somehow excused his actions.

When Leo flinched, he lowered his bow. 

He met the Nohrian prince's eyes, and held his gaze. There was fear written on his face, and confusion. And hurt.

_He's all alone, too._

Takumi pressed his lips together and turned away, sprinting away into the heat of the chaos and sinking arrows into the Nohrian soliders. He didn't dare turn back, not even to spare the other prince a glance. Battle cries and the screams of warhorses filled his ears as he reentered the fight, and he welcomed the distraction. Recollecting himself, he focused his efforts on driving back the Nohrian army. 

He couldn't afford to dwell on the fact he spared the prince's life for another moment. 


End file.
